• SituationCake@aussie.zone
      5·
      5 days ago

      If I were dictator of Victoria I would declare that every suburb needs a meerkat habitat, so everyone can visit meerkats whenever they need to. Boom, mental health improves by 1000%.

    • Alamutjones@aussie.zone
      4·
      5 days ago

      I once applied for a job at RCH specifically because the desk I’d be at all day, manning the reception for one of the outpatient clinics, was in direct sight of the meerkat enclosure they’ve got.

      I did not get the job.

      That wasn’t the only reason - the clinic is one I would have attended as a child, for kids with very similar conditions to what I have…I figured it would be good for kids and parents to see an adult version of their own experiences - but it was a big part of it!

  • Alamutjones@aussie.zone
    7·
    5 days ago

    Behold the Primordial Desk

    There are two little pull out arms on either side of the really shallow drawer. The section the key is in opens out and folds down into a writing surface (with teeny little shelves built in) that rests on the arms.

    • TheWitchofThornbury2@aussie.zone
      3·
      5 days ago

      Perfect for clandestine correspondence! The shallow drawer is for sheets of paper and blotting paper, the pull out arms support the fold down section. The teeny little shelves are for bottles of ink, boxes of nibs, stamps etc. The lower cupboard is for larger items. I recommend putting a plaster bust of some ancient sage of your choice on the top, with a doily underneath it.

      Give it an occasional rub with beeswax polish and it’ll last another 100 years easy. From the design, I’d say mid to late Victorian but not particularly high-end, which would be much more decorated with carving etc. I can’t tell from the pic what wood it is. If it was made here in Australia, then it just might be ‘local’ cedar from Richmond in northern NSW, now unobtainable for furniture making, and very collectible. The supply of Richmond cedar ran out in the early 1900s, due to overharvesting. Up to then, it was considered very very desirable for furniture as it was mothproof and rotproof and easy to work with. The smell should give it away if that is the case.

  • Alamutjones@aussie.zone
    6·
    5 days ago

    I have come into possession of a roughly 100 year old writing desk.

    Dad used it as a student 60 years ago, and it came from HIS great aunt, so it’s at least a hundred. It’s beautiful and I love it

  • SpinMeRound@aussie.zone
    5·
    5 days ago

    A beautiful day for a drive to Mount Donna Burang, walkie and then lunch at the Alpine Hotel. Dang tired now though!

  • SituationCake@aussie.zone
    6·
    5 days ago

    What a gorgeous day out there. I have shopped, done a load of washing, and am currently having an iced coffee. My plan for the rest of the day is to clear the spare table so I can start doing jigsaws again.

  • tone212_@aussie.zone
    4·
    5 days ago

    Bats are congregating in my yard. The next door neighbour doesn’t pick his apricot tree, they grab the fruit, hang off my trees and drop the leftovers below for me to clean up. The sounds they make are funny, like monsters.

  • Force_majeure1234@aussie.zone
    4·
    5 days ago

    On my way home from a friend’s BBQ, I was volunteer barbequer (only trusted with sausages and beef patties) but they turned out well! Had a fun time and played some games, met a new person who was awesome. I always feel like I’m really not social and often dread social settings, but reality is when I’m in them I’m fine and I generally always have a good time and don’t regret attending. I should work on my thinking in the lead up to such things

    • Tofu@aussie.zone
      3·
      5 days ago

      Says steam, soup, salad there. This is the kind of handle-with-care tofu you can eat on its own or added to a dish at the end. Or you can add a little sauce and eat it on its own

    • melbaboutown@aussie.zone
      1·
      5 days ago

      In a pasta bake sauce or mixed with chocolate for ‘mousse’. Or in vegetable curry

      Firmer tofus can be pressed then marinated and fried like meat pieces or chopped to use instead of mince

  • Seagoon_@aussie.zone
    5·
    5 days ago

    experience talking to an old ocker guy at Footscray station this week

    just waiting for the train , sitting on a bench, seat next to me was a really old guy

    he starts talking about how the trains are bad and how Tokyo has the same population and they have trains run every 3 minutes. ( veiled criticism and blame on labour government )

    I try to explain that we are big country and it takes much more investment and work to provide and run infrastructure here

    then he talks about how the country has changed. ( I have now learnt that this is code used by racists when they see immigrants who look different. )

    he said there shouldn’t be all these people coming when we don’t have the housing. Australia should be investing in housing. ( this sounded to me like a tv talking point )

    I said maybe we should be investing in industry, in factories, to make the country well off again and give people good jobs.

    He just kept on repeating the same statement about housing. Making a veiled racist statement. Blaming immigrants for a manufactured problem.

    I kept on saying we need industry and factories.

    after 4 rounds he slowly said, yeah, they closed Holden down. You could hear the rusty cogs turning.

    It takes patience and repetition but it’s possible to challenge how people think.

    Why should I care or make the effort.

    I want a country where people don’t parrot racist shit they hear on the telly

    and everyone gets a vote and each vote has value

  • StudSpud The Starchy@aussie.zoneEnglish
    4·
    5 days ago

    I’m feeling spiteful and petty. Must refrain from being the jerk that’s all “and another thing” after the argument is long concluded.

    I will say, I’m wishing some people the wooooooorrrrssssst